ON SHIFT - ABAD SANTOS, MANILA - MAY 2ND 2021

 

  Welcome to Abad Santos — a level crossing so extreme it makes a warzone look like a wellness retreat. Here, amid traffic that treats road rules as polite suggestions and horns as a second language, stands our crossing keeper: part traffic controller, part railway historian, and part miracle worker. While Manila swirls around him in a caffeinated haze of jeepneys, buses, motorcycles, pedestrians and the occasional vehicle that appears to have been assembled from spare emotions, he calmly goes about the noble task of stopping everything so a train can pass.

 During his shift we watch the parade of steel visitors trundle through: commuter sets grinding their way in from the north, and assorted rolling stock that looks like it’s seen things it can never unsee. Each train has a story — where it’s come from, where it’s going, and how it somehow managed to make it through Metro Manila without becoming part of the traffic itself.

 This isn’t just a list of trains; it’s a front-row seat to organised chaos, as seen through the eyes of the poor soul whose job is to convince Manila to stop moving… briefly… for the railway.

  Nah, that's an exaggeration, a list of trains is pretty much all it is. However, it is now a snapshot back to a time that will never come again.

Date	Origin	Destination	Time	Type	Loco/Railcar	EMU Set
May 2, 2021	Tutuban	Alabang	13:09	Loco Hauled	922	7
	Tutuban	Alabang	14:09	Loco Hauled	917	4
	Tutuban	Alabang	15:09	Railcar	8101	-
	Gov Pascual	Bicutan	15:26	Railcar	8002	-
	Alabang	Tutuban	15:39	Loco Hauled	922	7
	Tutuban	Alabang	15:59	Loco Hauled	918	6
	Tutuban	Blumentritt	16:20	Loco Hauled	2540	Light Engine
	Blumentritt	Tutuban	16:29	Loco Hauled	2540	7 + 918
	Tutuban	Alabang	16:42	Loco Hauled	922	7
	Alabang	Tutuban	16:50	Loco Hauled	917	4
	Bicutan	Gov Pascual	17:19	Railcar	8002	-
	Tutuban	Alabang	17:39	Loco Hauled	917	4
	Alabang	Tutuban	17:39	Railcar	8101	-
	Gov Pascual	Bicutan	18:06	Railcar	8002	-
	Tutuban	Alabang	18:39	Railcar	8101	-
	Tutuban	Calamba	19:20	Loco Hauled	918	4
	Alabang	Tutuban	19:22	Loco Hauled	922	7
	Bicutan	Gov Pascual	20:01	Railcar	8002	-
	Alabang	Tutuban	20:19	Loco Hauled	917	4
	Alabang	Tutuban	21:09	Railcar	8101	-

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Mark Chua.

Ap Cal, John McMarv, and Albert Latonero Nazareno.

Philippine Railway Historical Society

Philippine National Railways

Phil-Hist Investments

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Abad Santos Signalbox 2008 - Bill Sullivan

Abad Santos Signalbox 2010 - PRHS Inspection

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#semiretiredfoamer

#PRHSociety

MAY COMPETITION - BRIDGES

 

The PRHS Photographic Competition returns.

During May the topic was bridges. Thank you to everyone who contributed and voted in our latest competition.

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1st Place

Pandacan Bridge - Paul Vincent Loquillano Sagario

2nd Place
Apad Bridge - Paul Vincent Loquillano Sagario

3rd Place

Posadas Bridge - Dirk Paul Celoso

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Others

This one gets me particularly excited.
Nigel Menzies got this outstanding shot of Lopez Sugar #10 on Negros Island.
I could kick myself that I never got down there to see this in action.

This is the outstanding Palicpic Ayungin Bridge.

Mark Chua

San Juan Bridge -Calamba.

Mark Chua

Years ago, John Holland sent me a photo of a 1620 class passing over this bridge. Since that time, I have long dreamt of getting a PNR train passing over it, with the Mayon Volcano nice and clear like this.

Enrile Bridge, Comon, Travesia - Benjamin Saga

Old National Highway Bridge.

Near SM City Sta Rosa.

Peter Jiro Estavilla Padilla

This one sure gets the stunning lighting award

Alanoras Bridge.

Benjamin Saga

Outstanding shot of a new locomotive passing over the Concordia Bridge.

It is of particular interest as it is not the usual front 3/4 photo that we normally see of these things.

Mark Chua

Palicpic Ayungin Bridge.

Mark Chua

Palicpic Ayungin Bridge.

Mark Chua

A big thank you to everyone who contributed photos , and voted, in the May competition.

We will have another competition in the PRHS Group shortly.

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PRHS NEWS

 

** MAY PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION **

This months competition on the 'Philippine Railway Historical Society' group is railway bridges in the Philippines.

Members are invited to contribute their railway bridge photos and to vote (by liking) for their favourites!

Winners will appear here on the blog.

Join our PRHS Facebook Group today!

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In other group news, over the coming months the Feedburner service, that which allows you to receive blog post updates via your email, will cease to be provided.

Once this is gone, updates will only be via the following:

Philippine Railway Historical Society Page

Philippine Railway Historical Society Group

Philippine Railway Historical Society Twitter

Other options may be explored in the future!

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Remember, we are always looking for anything relating to the railways of the Philippines. Photos, documents, old trip reports, listings etc.

We cover the heavy and light rail systems, the sugarcane, mining and timber operations as well.
If you have anything that we can share with others and further this wonderful hobby, please email us.

Panay Island Adventure

 

Howdee one and all, here be another blog series that I have planned to run for a long time, but just not had the motivation to do :-)

That is until a recent email from Thom Hofstra, and an interesting discussion about the Panay Railways.
It turned out that Thom visited there in 1978 and was lucky enough to go for a ride and get a few photos.
Thom has generously allowed us to share his photos here.
I would like to greatly thank Thom for sharing these, as well as his research of where the track ran.

54 is a type of rail motor that the Panay Railway used to build from scratch in their 'Engineering & Mechanical Depot' at their main office at Lapus, Iloilo City.
These suburban trains were fitted with Cummins diesel engines.

In this series I plan to cover my 2017 trip to Panay from the moment we landed in Iloilo, to the time we took off from Roxas City. It will be primarily transport (rail and road) related, but may take the occasional diversion.
I've also made requests to use some other historical photos and, if the series leads to any other contributions of interest, I shall add them as well.
Lets see where it takes us :-)

114 (3503) was the last Panay Railway locomotive 

in existence.

It is seen here outside the former Lapaz Station (Iloilo) in 2007, however it was scrapped by the time of my visit in 2017, only her builders plate surviving.

There is a steam locomotive, minus it's tender, on display in a Iloilo park. However, despite claims on a plaque, it is not from the Panay Railway, having been a sugarcane locomotive.

Ticket from the PRHS collection.

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Thanks: Thom Hofstra
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All photos in this series are copyright of their various owners and we ask everyone to respect this.
If you would like to share this page, please use the link

 HERE.

Stay tuned for further installments in coming weeks.

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Philippine Railway Historical Society Blog

Philippine Railway Historical Society Group

ROTEM CAB

Howdee one and all.
Over the years, I have been somewhat privileged to take part in some interesting events on the
'Philippine National Railways'.

Back in 2009 the South Korean built ROTEM railcars were being delivered. For once I was in he country at the right time and got to witness both the delivery of new sets and take part in some trials that took place on the south line (in Manila).

It was during the later that we were invited to check out the drivers cab of the set we were trialing.
Thought some shots of the, then new, DMU cab may be of interest to our readers. 

Contrary to appearances, I didn't actually drive it.

If you look closely, you can make out the old PNR logo underneath the new one above.

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